1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dumping mechanisms, and in particular to a dumping insert for truck.
2. Background of the Invention
Large dedicated dump trucks for transport and dumping of materials are old and well-known in the art. These are generally large, complex, and expensive.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a smaller, less expensive alternative to the traditional dump truck for jobs which do not require the capacity and expense of using a dedicated traditional dump truck.
One solution has been the retrofit of existent pickup trucks with dumping inserts. While these provide a less expensive dumping solution, they also have presented a number of problems. Most of these designs require drilling of dumping insert mounting holes through the truck bed, thus rendering installation of the dumping insert laborious and time-consuming. In addition, if the holes are not properly protected from the elements (such as rain water, melting snow, etc.), then these drilled mounting holes may become a source of corrosion.
Existing Designs
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,357 was granted Day for a flat-bottomed dumping container pivotally affixed to a T-shaped bracing structure, which in turn was attached to a truck bed with bolts. A hydraulic ram was pivotally connected between the bracing structure and the underside of the dumping container, which upon extension inclined the dumping container to empty its contents. However, holes had to be drilled into the truck bed to receive the bolts of the bracing structure, leaving visible holes when the bracing structure was detached from the truck bed. Furthermore, it was difficult to work to align, tighten, and loosen the bolts.
Panciocco was granted U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,045 for a flat-bottomed dumping container that slid on channels welded or bolted to the upright sides of a truck bed. To dump its contents, the container was rolled rearwardly and pivoted. After dumping, the container was returned to its initial position. Wright was granted U.S. Pat. No. 1,942,319 for a flat-bottomed dumping container that was pivotally attached to a pair of beams that were in turn attached to a supporting frame on a truck bed. One end of each arm was connected to rollers located on the beams, and the other end of each arm was attached to the flat-bottomed dumping container. A rotatable drum was connected by cable to the rollers. Rotating the drum pulled the rollers along the pair of beams to incline the dumping container about its pivot point to empty its contents. Panciocco's teaching of welding or bolting the channels to the walls of the truck bed, and Wright's teaching of mounting the dumping container to a supporting frame both resulted in dumping containers that were not readily detachable from a truck. In addition, the drilled mounting holes caused the same problems as mentioned previously in connection with the Day '357 patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,361 was granted Phillips for a portable dumping insert for a pickup truck. While the Phillips '361 patent overcame many of the problems associated with the prior art dumping inserts by avoiding the necessity of drilling holes in the truck bed, the installation and removal of the dumping insert still took longer than necessary. Accordingly, the improvements over the Phillips '361 patent taught in the instant patent application are intended to render the installation and removal of the instant dumping insert even faster than that made possible by use of the Phillips '361 invention. In addition, certain other features are disclosed in the instant application which contribute towards improving the performance and utility of the Phillips '361 design.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an easily attachable and detachable dumping insert which may be widely used with lighter duty trucks such as pickup trucks without modifications to the truck bed, and that is of a sufficiently universal design to permit its use on a wide variety of different trucks. In addition, it would be desirable to provide a dumping insert which is more quickly and easily installed and removed from conventional truck beds than has been disclosed to date within the art.